224: 5.34 I Remember

5.34 I Remember

Terra rolled out of Lu Yizhou's arms to stand on his feet. Fury painted his eyes red. How dare he—! He should have killed that parasite from the start, should have exploded his head into smithereens before he could even hurt his sentinel. Waves of violent spiritual power exploded out of his body, meeting the other guide's power head on. Sparks of electricity exploded in the air and the lightbulb above them shattered to pieces, the glass shards falling down like rain. Joshua's eyes widened at the full display of strength and the momentum sent him crashing to the wall behind. The parasites around them tumbled back as if pushed by an invisible hand and they rolled down the stairs like a domino. Heads exploded and screams rang out one after another.  0

The last burst of power left Terra drained and lightheaded. He staggered on his feet and held onto the railing as he shook the dizziness out of his system. It was Lu Yizhou's muffled groan that caused him to swirl so fast that he fell on his knees right in front of the sentinel.

A lump formed on Terra's throat at the agony that stretched upon Lu Yizhou's knitted brows, the tightly shut eyes, gritted teeth and the bulging veins on his forehead. He was shuddering and his nails left deep marks on his skin. Gashes tore his skin and blood oozed out. Terra gasped and reached out to hold his wrists in order to prevent him from hurting himself only for the man to recoil violently, trembling and curling deeper into himself. Above them, Monroe was flying around in panic, its chirps echoing the restlessness it felt. 

Terra froze and sucked in a sharp breath. 

"Mroow!" Blackie was pawing fretfully on his shoulder, eyes flicking between Lu Yizhou and Monroe back and forth. 

Can you help Monroe? He asked the spirit animal.

Blackie's cat features turned thoughtful for a moment before it took a leap just as Monroe was flying low, catching the horned eagle right on its wings. The two spirit animals dived down and rolled on the ground. Monroe thrashed around by reflex only to be pinned down by Blackie's bite on its neck, growling for it to sit still. After making sure that Monroe wouldn't struggle again, the black cat loosened its jaw only to lick the place where he had just bitten. A comforting gesture. Monroe slowly ceased moving and lay flat on the ground, letting itself be licked and groomed all over, chirping incessantly.

Terra heaved a sigh after sensing Lu Yizhou's spirit animal calm down. His hands shook as he reached for the sentinel once more, gently cradling his face within his palms and wiped the blood away. Lu Yizhou's silver eyes were empty as he looked at Terra. Nausea coiled on the pit of Terra's stomach at the crimson liquid. He hated it, hated it with all his being when the man was injured. 

Joshua's spiritual attack had affected his mental state, Terra noted in panic. He was going to lose his mind soon.

The lodge on his throat gave way in lieu of holding Lu Yizhou tightly to himself, to prevent him from further injuring his battered body— and he finally let his voice be heard for the first time in twelve years. "L—Lu Yizhou…" His voice was grating, hoarse and rough with disuse and he didn't even realize what he was saying. Save him, bring him back, don't let him go again, was the only thought looping in his mind. He clasped his palms over Lu Yizhou's ear and hugged the trembling sentinel to his chest. "Lu Yizhou, Lu Yizhou, Lu Yizhou, I am here. It's okay. You're okay now."

Terra didn't care that the greenish substance on Lu Yizhou's clothes ended up sticking on him, he held the sentinel close, whispering to him again and again whilst digging into the nearly empty reservoir inside him, finding a crimson glow on the very bottom. Pulsing and alive. He took it into himself and inhaled sharply, tears sliding down his cheek as he projected calmness, determination and serenity, weaving his spiritual element as a barrier around the sentinel. "Lu Yizhou, Lu Yizhou, my beloved…"

It was unknown how long they stayed like this, hugging on the floor of emergency stairs, surrounded by the crushed corpses, greenish substance all over their bodies and the repulsive odor. Lu Yizhou gradually stopped trembling but his exhale was still light and hurried, his heartbeat against Terra was wild and irregular.

"Lu Yizhou…" Terra kissed the man's crown, whispering. "Lu Yizhou…"

The body in his arms suddenly stilled. Then slowly, Lu Yizhou lifted his head and oh, Terra's heart almost broke to pieces at the garrish wound that marred the right side of his face as well as the broken prosthetic eyeball, but his other eye was bright, dazzling. The light in it blazed and almost rivaled everything else. "What… did you just call me?"

A quiet sob escaped Terra's lips and tension finally loosened from his shoulders. He hugged Lu Yizhou tight and tucked his nose into the sentinel's pulse point, whimpering. "Lu Yizhou."

Tremors traveled all over his body and his voice trembled above Terra when he spoke. So small and quiet, as if afraid that he was merely dreaming. "Do you… remember?"

Terra nodded, tears soaked into the fabric on Lu Yizhou's shoulder. He fisted on the sentinel's shirt and the sound he let out was nearly a laugh as it was a sob. "A little. I remember you as Jingxue-Jun, Altair, Raphael and—"

"My real name. Lu Yizhou." He exhaled shakily. "You remember…"

Terra finally pulled away to look into his eyes and cup his cheeks, smiling. "I remember."

A crystalline tear slid down Lu Yizhou's cheek and Terra leaned in to kiss it away, his chest so full that it almost burst out of his chest. How could he forget? How could he allow himself to forget about this person? From the start, they were already fated to each other. No matter how many lifetimes it was, how wide the universe was, they would still find their way back to each other.

Lu Yizhou sought his eyes and Terra let him do it as much as he wanted, knowing that he would find nothing but truth. The man finally screwed his eyes shut, lashes trembling against his bloodied cheeks and his lips opened to say something. But before he did, the sound of the door slamming open jolted them out of their bubbles. Lu Yizhou pulled his lips back into a snarl and subconsciously held Terra closer to himself. 

"General Kai!" A familiar voice hollered. "Terra!"

Terra's shoulders sagged in relief and he almost sobbed from how happy he was to hear Doctor Wyatt's voice.

"Answer if you're here, damn it!"

"D—Doctor." Terra's voice was trembling but that was enough for Doctor Wyatt to zoom in on them. The doctor's lips formed a curse as he sprinted up the stairs, kicking the corpses away with an irritated look. When he finally arrived in front of them, Terra saw that his pristine white coat had been stained with dirt, blood and green substance. The doctor took one look at them and instantly knew that something was wrong.

He stopped a few steps away. "Are you two okay?"

Terra pressed Lu Yizhou's shoulders down when he sensed the man moving. An unstable sentinel shouldn't be taken lightly, even Terra knew that fact. He stood to face the surprised Doctor Wyatt. "He's attacked." He started, ignoring how the doctor's eyes grew larger and larger by each second. "It messed with his mind. His senses…"

Doctor Wyatt finally snapped out of his thoughts and registered what he was saying. He looked like he had a lot to say to Terra but instead, he moved to inspect Lu Yizhou with his eyes. "General?"

"My touch-sense." Lu Yizhou let out a brief chuckle, trying to keep himself as still as possible. The feeling of fabric on his skin, the gloves, the blood and sweat, even the strands of hair sticking to his neck and the caresses of the cold air around him was utterly unbearable. It was like thousands of ants were squirming beneath his skin. It took nearly all his willpower not to scratch himself raw. "My touch-sense is expanding."

Doctor Wyatt sucked in a breath. "Wait a moment." He ordered grimly before hastily going somewhere. The thing he feared the most finally happened. General Kai, the rank A dark sentinel, had developed his fourth sense. Just one more sense, one more step… and he would plunge into madness. 

There was no time left. General Kai and Terra's union had to be done as soon as possible.

pqdm.com